The Texans will win, but here is how they could get beat

Indianapolis at Houston

The Colts are Peyton Manning, plain and simple. Without Manning playing, football fans around the country will see just how devoid of talent the Colts truly are. The Texans still have potential problems in the secondary, but I just don’t see Kerry Collins being able to take advantage of the Texans. The Texans offense manhandled the Colts in Week 1 last year and I can’t see any reason why the Texans shouldn’t be able to move the ball on the ground and through the air against a Colts defense that relies on getting ahead of their opponents.Colts – 13 Texans – 28

How The Texans Could Lose To The Colts
Everywhere you turn, even the most cynical Texans fan is having a hard time figuring out a way that the Texans could lose to the Colts without Manning, but much crazier things have happened and I’ll lay out a realistic scenario in which the Texans could be upset. After all, it isn’t the worst thing to keep this week’s game in perspective since the Colts simply aren’t going to roll over like so many are acting.

The Colts must… win the turnover battle. It doesn’t take much to win a turnover battle and if Dwight Freeney were to beat Duane Brown around the corner and strip/sack Matt Schaub, then all of a sudden the Texans could be looking at a fumble recovery for a touchdown or a short field for the Colts offense to work with. That would be seven points unaccounted for before the game which makes up a great deal of ground on the 9 point spread. It still could take more for the Colts to win this game than just the turnover battle so let me lay out a few more scenarios. The Colts still have Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark who are all very tough matchups for the Texans and it only takes one catch and missed tackle for a play to turn into a long TD. Defensively, I will admit that I can’t really think of too many ways that the Colts can slow the Texans down, but if the Texans get cute with their “balanced play-calling” they might give Freeney and Dwight Mathis a shot at sacking Schaub and creating a turnover. Quite frankly, that is a chance that the Texans should not have to take much unless they can’t run the football.

NFL Score Predictions

Atlanta at Chicago
The Atlanta Falcons say they would like to throw the ball more this year and after watching them this offseason, I believe them. Rookie wideout Julio Jones gives the Falcons another big target for Matt Ryan to throw and the Falcons might challenge the Bears in more three WR sets than we’re used to seeing from them in an attempt to spread the Bears defense out and wear down Julius Peppers with a quick passing attack. While I like the potential of the Falcons passing offense I think Michael Turner will find the going tough against the Bears and on the other side of the ball, I believe the Bears can have a great deal of success on the ground against the Falcons. Managing OC Mike Martz and Jay Cutler won’t be easy for Lovie Smith, but if he can get both of those two to stay within themselves, the Bears come out of Soldier Field 1-0.Falcons – 17 Bears – 20

Pittsburgh at Baltimore
While the Red Sox and Yankees get all the rivalry love, the Steelers and Ravens are my favorite rivalry in sports today. Over the last three years, the Steelers are 4-2 against the Ravens during the regular season with every one of those games coming down to 4 points or less. The Steelers, however, are 2-0 in the postseason against the Ravens with both games being decided by 7 points or more. At the end of the day, the Steelers make more big defensive plays and have had better QB play. In this one, the Ravens are basically the same group, but FB Vonta Leach gives the Ravens a hammer-head to help clear the way for Ray Rice. The Steelers continue to age in their front seven and sooner or later that is going to catch up with them. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers offense looks to be very potent with a trio of young, speedy WRs who can hit the big play at any time matched up with Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to extend plays. The key to this one will be the Steelers offensive line play. If the big boys can hold up and help the Steelers run it a little bit, they’ll get the win in this spot. If not…..Steelers- 19 Ravens – 21

Dallas at NY Jets
There will be plenty of emotion on the sideline of the Jets and in the stands as well as this game is being played on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Rex Ryan has already spoken about how much this game means to him and his team and I think you’ll see the Jets come out sharp to start the game. The Cowboys wideouts will test most CBs in the league, but the Jets can match up with them and on the other side of the ball, the Jets should have success on the ground behind Shonn Greene and their offensive line. The Jets are one of the best teams I’ve seen at confusing opposing offenses with their blitz packages to star the season and when Romo gets confused, bad things happen. The Cowboys are taking steps to improve their running game, but they aren’t quite there yet so look for the Jets to bully them up front and then confuse Romo and the offensive line on 3rd downs.Cowboys – 14 Jets – 21

Detroit at Tampa Bay – Everyone is high on the Lions and it is hard not to be excited about emerging players like Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh and Brandon Pettigrew. If Matt Stafford stays healthy, I have no doubt that the Lions will be a tough out each week. With that said, the Bucs’ simplicity could benefit them early in the season and Mike Williams and the WR corps from the Bucs could be a major problem for the Lions to handle.Lions – 23 Bucs – 24

Buffalo at Kansas City – As of this writing, we don’t know if QB Cassel is going to be ready to go or not, and I’m not ready to just write the Bills off regardless of the Chiefs QB situation. The Bills rush defense will be better this year and if the Chiefs have a hard time running the ball, this game could get interesting. I’m leaning towards the Chiefs, but a good game by Bills QB Fitzpatrick could spell doom for the Chiefs in their home opener.Bills – 17 Chiefs – 20

Philadelphia at St. Louis – The “Dream Team” makes their debut on the road against one of the up-and-coming QBs in the league in Sam Bradford. The problem for Bradford is that his offensive line is going to have a big problem stopping the pass rush of the Eagles and with Nnamdi Asomugha taking care of one side of the field, the Rams are going to struggle to hit anything down the field for significant yardage. I have no doubt that Coach Spags will have a solid gameplan in place, but can the Rams deal with the speed of the Eagles offense? Simon says… NO.Eagles – 27 Rams – 17

Cincinnati at Cleveland – This game could represent two teams headed in different directions. While the Browns can hardly be classified as a playoff contender this year, they do seem to have a better handle on who they are and what they want to do headed into this game. The Bengals will try and run the ball with RB Benson and, if that fails, they will have to rely on QB Dalton to make plays which he struggled with at times during the preseason. The Bengals clearly got worse during the off-season so we’ll see how much fire they come out with.Bengals – 16 Cleveland – 21
Tennessee at Jacksonville – The Jaguars surprised everyone by releasing QB David Garrard just five days prior to their first game of the season. While Garrard was simply too inconsistent to count on over the grind of a season, he was a better option than McCown or Gabbert. The Titans have a WR (Britt), TE (Cook) and a RB (C.Johnson) who should be able to cause matchup issues for the Jaguars. To me, the Titans are a very live underdog in this spot if RB Johnson is ready to go and if QB Hasselbeck can play efficiently.Titans – 21 Jaguars – 17
NY Giants at Washington – Fans may look at the Giants and see talent at RB, WR and DE, but I see a team who has issues in the secondary and with a QB who doesn’t always take care of the ball well. The Redskins have their own loose cannon at QB in Rex Grossman, but this feels like a good spot for the Redskins who should be improved defensively and who will benefit from the straight-ahead style of their running back trio this season.Giants – 20 Redskins – 21

Carolina at Arizona – With their rushing game, Carolina should offer Arizona an interesting test right out of the gate. QB Newton will be limited with what the Panthers ask of him which should be a positive against the Cardinals shaky defense. Despite winning only twice last season, the Panthers are far from the least talented team in the league and they will prove that in this spot when they go in and upset the Cardinals.Panthers – 24 Cardinals – 20

Seattle at San Francisco – These two teams split out last season, but Seattle struggled on offense in both matchups against the Niners. In this one, I expect the Niners to keep the poor Seahawks rushing game in check and if that happens, the Seahawks will need QB Jackson to make plays to win this game. The Seahawks’ biggest problem might continue to be stopping teams through the air, but I’m not looking for San Fran to be the team to exploit that weakness.Seahawks – 13 49’ers – 20

Minnesota at San Diego – So how does a team like San Diego out-gain their opponents by over 120 yards per game and still finish just 9-7? Turnovers and poor special teams would be your answer. The Chargers fired their special teams coach and they also have Vincent Jackson to start the season along with a healthier version of RB Mathews to start the season. The Vikings running game will be okay if QB McNabb can threaten safeties and keep them off the line of scrimmage. I don’t see that happening in this spot.Vikings – 14 Chargers – 31

New England at Miami – There is an uneasy feeling in the air around the AFC and it reminds me of the same feeling you get when a storm is approaching. The storm in this case is Hurricane Brady. Brady is used to doing more with less at his skill positions, but right now, he has the type of targets that should allow him to light up the sky against most opponents. The Dolphins young corners have terrific potential, but that isn’t enough against Brady and with QB Henne pulling the trigger for the Phins.Patriots – 28 Dolphins – 14

Oakland at Denver – I have the utmost respect for new Broncos head coach John Fox and I really like the fact that he plans on making the running game more of a priority. RBs Moreno and McGahee have the potential to improve the ground game this year, but against the Raiders defensive front, they could struggle somewhat. The Denver interior defense is still a major concern for me and the Raiders are the type of team that will hammer it at you. Look for a big game from RB McFadden in this spot.Raiders – 21 Broncos – 20